But when it comes to talking about who will play Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele on the silver-screen adaptation of her books, this charmingly self-effacing British writer gets shy.

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So why won't she weigh in on her casting choices? "It gets messy," James exclusively told E! News' Alicia Quarles at the "Fifty Shades of Grey": The Classical Album event Monday night at NYC's Soho House. "You might end up with somebody else [than I originally said]."

James admitted that only at the end of December did she start to realize how big the "Fifty Shades" franchise had become. "I almost fell out of my chair when I got an email about film rights," she said laughingly.

While she admittedly gets a bit media-shy, James loves meeting and interacting with fans and the people who've read her books. "I love that it's brought women together," she said. "Especially some women who don't often read books. They read it, and that's fantastic."

And while James is currently busy with a book tour (including a trip to Seattle, which she's beyond excited about), she's already got her next project in mind.

"It's an erotic novel, yes," she revealed. It's actually finishing up the first book she ever wrote because, "I want to get it out of my head!"